The training of animals, and in particular dogs, so that they will obediently respond to vocal commands is often accomplished by means of leashes and collars which permit the transmission of physical force in one form or another to the animal in conjunction with the vocal commands. For example, choke chains have commonly been employed for this purpose and are attached to a leash so that the choke chain around the neck of the animal can be tightened or relaxed in accordance to the animal's response to the given command. Such devices however have the disadvantage that they require the human master to be in fairly close proximity to the animal since it is impractical for the leash to be of any great length.
To provide a remote signal which is not dependent upon the length of a leash, it has been proposed to provide various radio controlled devices which produce shock or other potentially harmful or misunderstood stimulation to the animal. Such devices of the prior art are illustrated and described in the following United States Patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,589,337 to Doss describes an animal training device which may be collar or harness which provides an electric shock to the animal in response to a remotely transmitted radio signal.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,530 to Labart, et al. describes a bucking strap to be used on a bucking horse or Brahma bull in a rodeo to permit a judging official to remotely disconnect the strap.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,180,013 to Smith describes an animal behavior control device which produces a vibration on the animal's neck in response to barking or other noise emitted from the animal itself.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,678 to Kime describes a device for controlling the reins, crop or spurs applied to a riding horse which device is controlled by radio to simulate the actions of a jockey.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved, remotely controlled training collar for animals and in particular dogs which permits the gentle, repetitive application of pressure to the neck of the animal through the attached collar and which simulates the same type of pressure applied to a collar by a leash to thereby familiarize the animal with the restraints associated with the normal use of a collar and leash of conventional design.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an animal training collar which permits tightening or loosening of the collar at a remote distance from the animal being trained so that the animal is familiarized with the need to respond obediently to given commands irrespective of the proximity of the animal's master.